README

A Composer plugin and CLI installer for scaffolding new Machinjiri PHP applications quickly and consistently.

What’s new

The installer now supports a more complete project setup experience:

interactive project creation prompts
validation for PHP, Composer, extensions, disk space, and writable directories
dry-run support for previewing changes
starter kit selection (default and blog)
database selection (sqlite and mysql)
optional Git initialization
automatic .env generation with secure permissions
installation logging and post-install summaries

Requirements

Before running the installer, make sure your environment meets these requirements:

PHP 8.3 or newer
Composer 2.x
Required PHP extensions: json, mbstring, openssl, zip, pdo, tokenizer, and ctype

Installation

Global installation (recommended)

composer global require machinjiri/installer

As a project dependency

composer require --dev machinjiri/installer

Quick start

Create a new project interactively:

machinjiri create

Create a project directly from the command line:

machinjiri create my-app

You can also use the alias:

machinjiri new my-app

Command options

The create command supports the following options:

machinjiri create [name] [options]

Options:

-f, --force — overwrite an existing directory if it already exists
--m-version=VERSION — install a specific Machinjiri framework version
--dev — include development dependencies
--no-dev — skip development dependencies
--no-scripts — skip Composer scripts during install
--dry-run — preview the installation without creating files
-n, --no-interaction — skip prompts and use defaults
--git — initialize a Git repository and make the initial commit
--starter=NAME — choose a starter kit (default or blog)
--prefer-cache — prefer Composer cache when available
--database=sqlite|mysql — choose the database configuration template
--description=TEXT — set the project description
--company=NAME — set the company or organization name
--keep-on-error — preserve a partially created project if installation fails
-v, --verbose — show more detailed output

Common examples

1. Interactive setup

machinjiri create

2. Non-interactive install with SQLite

machinjiri create my-app --no-interaction --database=sqlite --starter=default

3. Create a blog starter app

machinjiri create my-blog --starter=blog --database=mysql

4. Preview installation without creating files

machinjiri create my-app --dry-run --verbose

5. Overwrite an existing directory

machinjiri create my-app --force

What the installer creates

A typical project scaffold includes:

your-project/
├── app/
│   ├── Controllers/
│   ├── Middleware/
│   ├── Models/
│   └── Providers/
├── bootstrap/
│   ├── app.php
│   ├── artisan.php
│   └── helpers.php
├── config/
│   ├── app.php
│   ├── database.php
│   ├── mail.php
│   └── providers.php
├── database/
│   ├── factories/
│   ├── migrations/
│   └── seeders/
├── public/
│   ├── src/
│   │   ├── css/
│   │   └── js/
│   └── index.php
├── resources/
│   └── views/
├── routes/
├── storage/
├── tests/
├── artisan
├── composer.json
├── .env
└── phpunit.xml

The installer also generates starter-specific files based on the selected kit and writes the base configuration needed to start developing immediately.

Starter kits

The installer currently supports:

default — a general-purpose starter scaffold
blog — a blog-oriented starter scaffold

Example:

machinjiri create my-blog --starter=blog

Post-install notes

After a successful install:

review the generated .env file and adjust any environment values
inspect .installation.log if you need to debug a failed or unusual install
start developing from the generated app skeleton

Troubleshooting

Composer is not found

Make sure Composer is installed and available in your PATH.

Missing PHP extensions

Install the required extensions before retrying:

# Ubuntu / Debian
sudo apt-get install php8.3-json php8.3-mbstring php8.3-openssl php8.3-zip

# CentOS / RHEL
sudo yum install php-json php-mbstring php-openssl

# macOS (Homebrew)
brew install php

Existing directory error

If the target folder already exists, use --force to overwrite it:

machinjiri create my-app --force

Permission denied

# Check directory permissions
ls -la /path/to/project

# Fix permissions (Linux/macOS)
sudo chown -R $USER:$USER /path/to/project
sudo chmod -R 755 /path/to/project/storage

Composer install failed

# Check Composer version
composer --version

# Clear Composer cache
composer clear-cache

# Try with verbose output
machinjiri create my-app -vvv

CI/CD usage

The installer supports non-interactive mode for automation:

# GitLab CI example
before_script:
  - composer global require machinjiri/installer
  - export PATH="$PATH:$HOME/.config/vendor/bin:$PATH"
  - machinjiri create ${CI_PROJECT_NAME} --no-interaction --force --no-dev
  - cd ${CI_PROJECT_NAME}
  - composer install --no-dev --no-interaction

Contributing

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/preciouslyson/machinjiri-installer.git
cd machinjiri-installer

# Install dependencies
composer install

# Run tests
composer test

# Test the installer locally
php bin/machinjiri create test-app

License

This package is distributed under the MIT License.

machinjiri / installer

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